Southwest China's
Guizhou Province will provide drinkable water to 7 million
rural people by 2010, according to the provincial government.
Guizhou Province, suffering a severe shortage of potable water
in the rural areas, will give priority to water storage projects
and a water-saving drive during the
11th Five-Year?Guidelines period (2006-2010).
It plans to launch 1 million irrigation projects by 2010,
increasing the per capita irrigation area to 333.4 square meters
and ensuring drinkable water for 7 million rural people.
With larger area of karst land, the province is badly short of
soil and water on the mountain areas. "Soil is valued as pearl, and
water as oil" is a popular saying among locals.
In some needy villages, a large amount of manpower is wasted on
carrying water. Drinking unhealthy water also triggers frequent
outbreaks of epidemic diseases.
Since 1998, the government has carried out a few projects
addressing this problem, including the "drinking water safety
project" in the rural areas. During the 10th Five-Year Guidelines
period (2001-2005), 6.34 million rural residents in the province
benefited from the project, as did their 3.8 million heads of
livestock.
(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2006)
